Your resource for Sonoma County fishing information
Fishing for largemouth bass in your local ponds or small lakes is a great way to start learning how to fish. It’s a low stakes environment where you can learn how to tie proper fishing knots, utilize different fishing techniques, improve your hooksets, & fight fish effectively. Bass will bite more often and aggressively than most other fish and they are strong and exciting to fight.
Even if fishing for largemouth bass doesn’t appeal to you, I recommend people target them in order to develop a skills foundation before trying to fish for lingcod, salmon or steelhead. After hooking, fighting and landing largemouth bass on a consistent basis, you will be much more successful when pursuing the more difficult-to-catch species.
The best decision you can make to catch more largemouth bass is to get off shore and onto a float tube, pontoon boat or kayak. Being on the water will allow you to access significantly more water, structure and fish. In addition, you will have a much easier time landing fish because you will usually be fighting them out of structure and into more open water. I generally prefer using float tubes for this application and I will explain the benefits & drawbacks of each platform below.
Although kayaks and pontoon boats are still much better than fishing from shore, float tubes are my personal favorite for most ponds & small bodies of water. The biggest advantage of float tubes is that they are hands-free, meaning that you propel and steer float tubes using fins attached to your legs. In addition to being hands-free, they are also very portable/storable due to their light weight, backpack-strap attachments, & compressibility. Float tubes are also the most inexpensive of the three options. The Classic Accessories Cumberland Float Tube, considered by many people to be the best float tube for fishing, can be purchased for about $170 on Amazon. Despite these benefits, the float tube platform is not perfect; they are the slowest of the three options, have the least amount of storage space and they require the lower half of your body to get wet.
Pros: Hands-free, very portable/storable, & inexpensive
Cons: Slow, lack of storage space and they require you to get wet
Pontoon boats are also an excellent choice for bass fishing on small bodies of water. They have oars, to cover water larger distances of water more efficiently and quickly, but accommodate the use of fins as well, when you want to be hands free. Pontoon boats are also comfortable to fish in and do not require you to get wet. In theory, they should be the best choice as they capture the biggest advantages of float tubes and kayaks, but I find their higher cost and lack of portability/storability to be big problems. Due to their metal frame, pontoon boats take up more room than float tubes are and significantly harder to hike larger distances with. When it comes to cost, pontoon boats are at least twice the cost of comparable float tubes, generally in the $300 - $600 range.
Pros: Hands-free, comfortable seating, faster than float tubes, choice of using paddles or fins, do not require you to get wet
Cons: Less portable/storable than float tubes, more expensive
Sit-on-top fishing kayaks are a great option for larger lakes, bays and oceans in certain conditions. However, for bass fishing on ponds and smaller lakes, their advantages are often outweighed by their disadvantages. The biggest advantage of kayaks is that they allow you to cover water quicker than float tubes or pontoon boats do. But, in order to achieve this relatively high speed, kayaks require you to use your hands to paddle and are therefore not as “hands-free” as float tubes or even pontoon boats. Sit-on-top kayaks are also significantly less portable than float tubes and pontoon boats, often requiring a truck or a roof-rack system to transport. They are also more expensive than float tubes and pontoon boats; you can expect to pay between $600 and $1000+ for a quality sit-on-top kayak.
Pros: Much quicker on the water, large amount of gear storage, allow you to stay completely dry
Cons: Not hands-free, the least portable/storable & most expensive of the options
When targeting largemouth bass in ponds, you can have success with most 6’ to 8’ fishing rods in medium-light, medium, medium-heavy or heavy power. If you don't have a specific fishing technique of choice, a 7' medium power rod is probably the best multipurpose option. I predominantly fish texas and carolina rigged plastics and prefer to use a 7’ Medium Light, fast action spinning rod because of the increased sensitivity. This style of rod allows me to cast accurately and really feel the plastic as it is working its way across the bottom. If, however, I was someone who frequently used jigs or crankbaits, I would lean towards a rod in the 7' to 8' medium heavy or heavy power to better match that style of fishing.
2500 size, spinning Plfueger President represents great value at only $59.99. It’s a tad bit on the heavy side but these are great reels and compare favorably to any other spinning reel in the “under $100” range. (Read our Plueger President Review for more)
Fishing with soft plastics is one of the easiest and most effective ways to catch bass. I use soft plastics most of the time and would recommend you start with them as well. Baby brush hogs, Gary Yamomoto Senkos, & PowerBait Power Worms, specifically on a Carolina (INSERT LINK) or Texas rig (INSERT LINK), are all great choices for the beginner and seasoned fisherman alike. When selecting the color of your soft plastic, choose something that you have confidence in and can envision yourself catching fish on. Having confidence in your gear is much more important than selecting the perfect color. If you haven’t built up confidence with any particular color yet, start with a natural color like pumpkin or watermelon, or dark like junebug or black.
In addition to a soft plastic lure, you will also need the correct style of hook and weight. I recommend Extra Wide Gap (EWG) hooks in 2/0 or 3/0, made by Gamakatsu or Owner, because they are sharp, strong and pair well with most plastics. The EWG allows you to rig “weedless” in order to avoid unnecessary snags when fishing around structure. For weights, I recommend you use 1/8 oz. bullet weights because they allow for a slow, enticing descent through the water column.
After having some success with soft plastics, you should try other lures and practice catching fish in a variety of different ways. Jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, buzzbaits, & other topwater lures can all be productive if used correctly. It will take some experimenting but you will eventually find out which techniques are most productive and enjoyable for you.
The Texas Rig is a simple and effective way to fish for bass using soft plastics. All you need is a hook, a sliding weight, and a soft plastic lure like a brush hog or curly tail worm. To set up the Texas Rig, follow the steps below:
The Carolina Rig and the Texas Rig are essentially the same rig, with one key difference. On the Carolina Rig, a barrel swivel is tied in between the hook and the sliding weight. Although the two rigs are similar, the Carolina allows for a more delicate presentation and leads to slightly less snags than the Texas. To set up the Carolina Rig, follow the steps below:
Although there are dozens, if not hundreds, of fishing knots out there, you can be a great fisherman and only use two knots: the palomar and the clinch.
The palomar knot is an incredibly strong, versatile and easy-to-tie knot. This knot is my number one choice for terminal tackle and it accounts for approximately 9 out of 10 knots that I tie when fishing. The palomar’s biggest limitations are that it can’t be used for line to line connections and it becomes difficult to tie to relatively large lures or tackle. In order to tie the palomar to a lure, follow the steps below:
The clinch knot was the very first fishing knot that I learned how to tie and I still use it today. It is a very simple knot to tie and, although it is not quite as strong as the palomar, the clinch is strong enough for most applications. Follow the steps below to tie the clinch knot:
Fishing for bass using a Texas rigged soft plastic is the best way for a beginner to start catching fish. It’s a technique that is simple to learn, yet very effective. All you need for the setup are soft plastic baits, EWG or offset-worm hooks, & bullet weights (read the “Tackle” section for more detail).
After your fishing rod is rigged up and your float tube is inflated, take a minute and study the shoreline. In most ponds in Sonoma County, you will notice an invasive plant species, known as water primrose, growing near the shore. This plant poses serious problems for our native aquatic ecosystems but it also provides structure for largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie and other fish. Water primrose does not grow in water deeper than 10 feet and so it is usually restricted to the shoreline of the most popular fishing ponds.
The water primrose can be very dense and can make it difficult to launch your float tube. Don’t fight the plant if you don’t have to; look for a spot on the shoreline with little to no growth and launch your float tube there. After launching, position yourself approximately 15 to 20 yards off the edge of the growth and face back towards the shore.
Cast as close to the aquatic vegetation line as you can, without getting snagged, and leave your bail open for about 5 to 10 seconds as the weight pulls the soft plastic bait towards the bottom. During this time, pay attention to the rate at which your line is pulling across the surface of the water. Any changes in speed, or erratic line movement, can sometimes signal a bite. Be aware that after the weight comes to a rest, it will still take a few seconds before the lure reaches the bottom. Be patient and fish slowly; you want to let the bait reach the bottom on its own before you impart any additional action. After a few additional seconds of waiting, slowly reel until you barely feel the weight on the end of your rod. Jig your rod tip upwards a few times and then swiftly drop the rod tip towards the water to allow the bait to free fall again. Wait a few additional seconds for the bait to come to a rest and repeat. I usually aim to complete 3 to 8 cycles of jigging and free falling before I reel in the rest of the line and cast again.
If you notice an increased weight when you go to jig, or notice the line moving rapidly across the water, you may have a bite! In order to fight the fish effectively, you will first have to set the hook. First, point the tip of the rod down towards the water and reel in until you feel a bit of tension. Then, stop reeling for a moment and swiftly raise the tip of your rod towards the 12 o’clock position and keep the rod high. At this point, the fish is hooked and the fight becomes much easier.
To fight a bass after the hookset, all you really have to do is keep the rod tip high and maintain tension on the line. As the fish swims away from you, stop reeling and let the drag system wear down the fish. As the bass fish towards you, reel in quickly to pick up line and maintain the tension. After a few minutes of fighting, the fish will tire out and you will be able to land the fish.
Landing a bass after it is tired out is simple. Lift your rod to bring the bass to the surface and get ready to grab the fish by the lower lip. The tip of your thumb and the side of the second knuckle on your index finger will form a vice that you will use to control the fish. In order to grab the fish, put your thumb into the fish’s mouth while keeping your curled index finger against the underside of the fisher’s lower jaw. Pinch your thumb and index finger together in order to complete the grab and control the fish. I find that in order to get maximum leverage, it’s make a fist with your four fingers before you just to pinch.
When fishing on small bodies of water, make sure you are being considerate of others. The fishable real estate is inherently very limited and you don't want to upset the people that you are fishing around. Before you get on the water, it is a good idea to take a moment and observe the other people who are fishing. Most of the time, you will notice that they are slowly floating around the perimeter of the pond as they fish. Take note of the direction that they are moving and do your best to avoid encroaching on their space or cutting them off. If they are not moving and you need to go around them, be sure to not disturb the area that they are fishing. As with most things in life, be respectful of the other people around and they will do the same.